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A massive brawl caught on tape in Southwest Philadelphia on Monday is receiving attention after a city police officer is allegedly seen punching a teenager.
Police arrived to a fight involving at least 30 people on Monday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. Videos of the incident began appearing on social media as officers arrived to break up the fight.
In one video, a teenager appears to yell at another officer and also seems to push and grab at the cop. As the video returns to the confrontation, the cop and the teen are still apparently going at it and the officer tosses the teen to the ground. The officer then appears to straddle the teen and deliver several punches, but the teen throws punches back which seems to hit the officer. Video also shows the officer pulling the teens hair, before a crowd quickly surrounds the two.
Another video posted to Facebook also captured the apparent fight between the teen and officer. A second officer is seen in the second video attempting to breakup the fight.
The guardian of the teen allegedly involved in the fight described to a local news station how the cops “threw [the teen] against the car and they slammed her on the ground.”
On Tuesday, the police officer seen in the video was reportedly taken off street duty, pending a full investigation.
Editor’s Note: The headline at first incorrectly identified the police office as a “he.”
[image via screengrab]